Montgomery County voters to decide on government structure

Montgomery County government could become a legislature

Published 9:00 pm, Saturday, November 3, 2012

AMSTERDAM — On Tuesday, Montgomery County citizens will decide whether to upend the structure of the county government.

On the ballot is a proposition to restructure the county's mode of operation, reestablishing the position of county administrator and trading in the county's 15 supervisor positions for a nine-member county legislature.

Currently, executive and legislative powers in Montgomery County are held by a board of 15 supervisors, one for each of 10 towns and five in the city of Amsterdam.

Under the proposal, legislators would be elected from nine equally sized districts, each for a term of three years. The legislature would replace the Board of Supervisors as the law and policy making body for the county; the administrator would oversee day-to-day operations. The new charter, however, would have no effect on town or city governments. Town supervisors would remain in place, instead acting solely as executives of their own towns.

Now Playing:

"The truth is, we need a change and the county charter is a change for the better," said former Minden town supervisor John Vesp in a letter supporting the charter. "We need equality on the board, where one representative has one vote and it isn't weighted. We need one person in charge, responsible for overseeing all county departments."

Among opposing views, noted in public hearing minutes on the county's website, are concerns about adding another layer of government and potential costs.